Toyota
Toyota Track is a race track located in Toyota, Japan. The track previously hosted the 8th round of Season One, and the 18th round of Season Two. Pre-URCS Shin Kawamoto was a Japanese television executive with a long history of creating successful game shows, such as Tsuma Nage (Chuck Your Wife) and Dochira Ga Jissai no Naifudesu Ka (Which One is the Real Knife?). Kawamoto became fascinated with the world of motorsports after attending an open-wheel race in Oyama, Japan, and soon, in 2004, developed a pitch for a game show based around auto racing. The show would have ten people, consisting of street-racers, hobby-racers, and average drivers, compete in a series of automotive-based challenges, with points being awarded for how quickly they completed the course. The winner each week would go to the "finals," and in the season finale, the ten winners would compete to be the season champion. The prize was slated to be a chance to drive in professional sports car racing. Oki Oh, chairman of OKOH Entertainment Media, was reportedly floored by the idea, and instantly green-lit the project, investing his own money in the project as well as giving Kawamoto a corporate budget. The show went into development for four years, as track layouts were designed, cars were planned, and locations were scouted. The team settled on Toyota as the location, hoping for a partnership with the Toyota Car company. Kawamoto reached out to Japanese comedy actor Ken Fukui for support on the project. Fukui, who dabbled in sports car racing, also approved with the idea, providing the equipment and overall prize in exchange for an undisclosed amount and share in the racing facility. Ground broke on May 13th, 2008 and continued onward through the summer. However, by August 2009, the project was becoming increasingly over-budget. Kawamoto tried to secure more funds by seeking a $100,000 loan from the Ogata Investment Firm. The loan carried them through the winter, but by May 2010, the project was hemorrhaging money once again. Contractors working on the project also had grievances with a slowing and eventual seizing of pay, which resulted in multiple lawsuits. In June 2010, Ken Fukui backed out of his contract and sold his shares and several weeks later, the project was officially cancelled. Shin Kawamoto was terminated from the company and blacklisted from the Japanese entertainment industry. Kawamoto currently resides in Seoul, South Korea. OKOH attempted to recoup their losses in the coming months, but projections showed the company would not turn a profit until 2028. The company folded, selling its other produced shows to Kaigi Entertainment. Ogata Investment Firm took ownership of the track and began looking for buyers. URCS S1 Executives at Utica Rallycross LLC. saw a listing for a racing facility for sale in Toyota, Japan and contacted the Ogata Investment Firm for negotiations. A deal was worked out that Utica Rallycross LLC. would buy the track, paying in installments of $25,000 quarterly until the $125,000 cost was reached. Until then, both parties would receive partial ownership of the facility. With the facility far from complete, the incomplete sections of the course were strung together with minor construction. The doors of the facility opened in 2012. URCS S2 Utica Rallycross LLC. completed their payment for the facility during the first half of the schedule. The race was pushed back to race eighteen on the schedule. Sale and Closure The track proved to be a drain on resources, as the massive structure had extravagant upkeep costs and the odd nature of the track made it unable to attract other racing series. In 2015, Utica Rallycross LLC was approached by Shita Real Estate Concern with an offer to buy the track to use the land for urban housing. Utica Rallycross LLC. agreed and sold the facility. The track was shut down on July 19th, 2015 and demolition began the following day. Ground broke on the first apartment building in early August of that year.Category:Tracks